Signs You’re in a Serious Relationship With Working Out

Posted on 10 October 2016

1. It’s the first (and sometimes only) thing you look forward to in the morning. Even on days when the weather is gross and you only slept six hours, somehow, by some miracle, you peel yourself out of bed and feel motivated to start the day with a run. And you used to be the person who’d sleep through entire brunches because 1 p.m. was "too early." Now, you don’t even recognize yourself anymore (but in a great way.)

2. You’re OK with doing it makeup-free. You’ve spent more hours than you’d like to admit perfecting your cat-eye via YouTube tutorials, and you’ve racked up enough points at Sephora to make even the salespeople concerned. But now, you turn up in a baggy T-shirt, sans foundation, and with your hair scooped up in a messy bun, and you’ve never felt more stunning.

3. You squeeze in time to make it happen, even if it’s not totally convenient.Just like how your schedule *~magically~* clears itself when you meet a new crush, even in freakishly busy weeks, you’ll duck out to hit the gym during your lunch break, or hop on a treadmill after three glasses of wine at happy hour (even if you know you should probably just go home). Half the time, it’s a terrible idea and you don’t end up accomplishing all that much, but even a quick jog feels so satisfying that you just can’t resist.

4. You post proud AF selfies. Your Instagram is filled with cute park pics and snapshots of you at perhaps your happiest. And they’re the types of photos that actually make someone snooping pretty jealous.

5. You spend a little too much money on it every so often.Just like fancy dinners and impromptu road trips start to add up, your spontaneous trips to Modell’s can leave you quickly blindsided by how much you just spent. Between $125-a-month gym memberships, Lululemon gear, or a much-needed new pair of New Balances, you definitely have your splurging phases. Except every expense feels 100 percent worth it, and never has Nike’s "just do it" felt more relevant than when you’re approaching the cash register.

6. You get inexplicably cranky when you don’t do it for a while. Dry spells are #real. There’s no direct reason why forgetting to buy cereal has made you so mad, but you just feel icky and terrible, and you hate everything and everyone, and little do you know that when you go to the gym tomorrow morning and sweat all your frustrations out, everything will be OK again. <3

7. Sometimes you invite a friend, but they end up feeling like a third wheel. It can get tough to chat with your BFF and kill it on the elliptical. You’re still trying to perfect the art of balancing trading work gossip with your bud and fully committing to your Pilates routine. But hey, that’s why they invented happy hour.

8. You remember race dates better than any anniversary.Half-marathons and charity 5Ks are among the biggest, and you prepare for them for sometimes months at a time. You may have left the toaster oven or forgotten to wish bae’s sister’s best friend happy birthday, but you can’t help your *~priorities~*.

9. It keeps your mood balanced and miraculously turns around the worst days. On days when it takes you two hours to get home or your roommate has covered your apartment with passive-aggressive sticky notes, this is the consistent rock you turn to. And in moments of extreme stress, it’s sometimes the only thing that can make you feel immediately better, in the same way having a cuddle-and-Netflix session with your S.O. improves your well-being by 1,000 percent. Before any major decision, taking a run clears your head and helps you make the right choice, proving itself to be your most trusted ally at times.

10. You occasionally worry you talk about it too much with your friends. Panic especially sinks in when one friend rolls their eyes at you and accuses you of bragging. You don’t mean to be obnoxious! You just get so deeply infatuated with your routine that you forget not every person will share your unbridled enthusiasm.

11. You don’t mind getting sweaty and even a little dirty. In the ~heat of the moment~, you might be drenched in sweat and feel a little gross, doubly so if you ran outside after a rainy day and are tracking mud everywhere. But you don’t mind one bit, and the fact that you hardly notice just shows that you have the raw determination to get ~exactly~ what you want.

12. You sometimes have the most specific and random eating habits. Just like succumbing to a sudden craving and ordering nachos at midnight with your bae, your gym routine can make your food schedule a little eclectic. If you’re not eating cold oats at 6 a.m. in the morning or a full salmon dinner at 10 p.m., you’re stuffing your face with pasta before a lengthy run.

13. It’s something you know you always need to work on, but you don’t mind at all.You set new goals for yourself and work harder with every passing month. Some people might assume you’re miserable, but you know the best things in life are the things you fight for, just like when your man has no idea why you’re so upset (but reeeeally wants to know) so you stay up talking until 2 a.m. for the betterment of your relationship.

14. There are some days where it feels impossibly hard, no matter what you seem to do. You didn’t eat anything weird, and you had some caffeine, yet going that extra mile literally feels like death. Sometimes, you just know you need to be patient. And blame Mercury in retrograde.

15. You’re constantly thirsty before, during, and after it.AND YOUR THIRST WILL NEVER BE QUENCHED.